WHAT I DO: I help Locum Tenens physicians and advanced practice providers gain clarity about their finances, identify opportunities and pitfalls, and stay on track with a trusted accountability partner. WHY IT MATTERS: Three recurring concerns stand out in my conversations with Active Duty Military and Civilian physicians and advanced practice providers: Skill Atrophy – Concerns about staying clinically sharp and staying competitive due to limited patient volume or exposure to diverse clinical settings. Financial Catch-Up – After years of training, many feel the pressure to fast-track savings and build long-term financial security. Time Flexibility – A deep desire for greater control over one’s schedule to prioritize family, entrepreneurship, or personal goals. These pressures often lead physicians to pursue Locum Tenens work—part-time or full-time—for its higher earning potential and flexible structure. But with that flexibility comes greater financial complexity, making a clear strategy and support system more important than ever. HOW I DO IT: Together, we assess your strengths and gaps across the six pillars of financial planning: Cash Flow Management, Risk Management, Estate Planning, Tax Strategy, Retirement Planning, and Investment Management. Then, we develop action items over 3 months to strengthen your financial foundation. Clients are empowered to self implement recommendations or collaborate with us for efficiency and accountability. NEXT STEPS: Ready to take control of your financial future? Connect with me on LinkedIn or reach out directly at arnie@achievablewealthfp.com—I’d love to learn more about your goals and how I can help. MORE ABOUT ME: I rediscovered my love for running three years ago thanks to one of my sons, starting with local 5Ks around the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, I’ve become especially fond of the half-marathon distance, with races like the Oakland and San Francisco Half under my belt. Marathon training is next on the horizon, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I also love exploring new places—favorites so far include Ilocos Sur (Philippines), Tokyo, Seoul, Busan, Barcelona, Lisbon, and London.

Dave's experience in investment management and financial planning uniquely position him to serve as his client's independent trusted advisor - a personal chief financial officer that can discreetly navigate the tides affecting your financial life. ​ Professional highlights include portfolio management on Union Bank municipal investment team which earned recognition as the best in the industry by Barron's in 2008 and 2009; lead investment management responsibility at a $300M financial planning firm; and working with amazing entrepreneurs, executives, and families. ​ David's education includes a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation, and a U.C. Berkeley bachelor's degree where he conducted a study on evidenced based investment management with Haas Professor of Investments David Distad. ​ David launched PFM to continue building upon his vision of complete personal financial management: discreet and unwavering focus on how expert financial management can help a client achieve her goals. From setting and achieving goals, to preparing you for all of life's contingencies and investing for your future - David helps his client's understand what they should be doing, and then helps them get it done.

Joseph Curtis is a financial advisor at Resolve Financial, LLC in Walnut Creek, CA, holding the ChFC® designation and Series 66 license with 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Resolve Financial since 2014 and previously operated under Joseph Patch Curtis from 2007 to 2016. Outside of advising, he is self-employed in insurance sales. Resolve Financial serves individual investors, estates, retirement plans, and trusts, typically working with accounts of $50,000 or more. The firm uses a factor-oriented investment approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory, focusing on broad market exposures with tilts toward small-company and value stocks, and manages accounts on a non-discretionary basis through a third-party platform.

Yoav Karni is the sole advisor at West Coast Financial Wealth Management, Inc. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 15 years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to his current role, he has been operating independently since 2001 and has worked at West Coast Financial Wealth Management since 2011. Outside of advisory work, Karni is a licensed life insurance agent, selling life, disability, long-term care, and Medicare insurance products. West Coast Financial Wealth Management, Inc. serves individual clients by providing tailored financial planning and selecting third-party investment advisers and platforms rather than directly managing portfolios. The firm focuses on client discovery to align goals and risk tolerance with appropriate outside managers, typically maintaining non-discretionary relationships while reviewing third-party reports quarterly.

Lawrence Grossman is a CFP® with 27 years of experience in the financial advisory industry. He has been the sole advisor at Grossman Financial Management since 1997 and previously worked at Archvest Wealth Advisors. Grossman Financial Management provides investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base, including pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts and estates, and high-net-worth individuals. The firm offers non-discretionary advice with regular account monitoring and reviews, utilizing both fundamental and technical analysis, and employs a fee structure that includes fixed-fee and hourly planning options.

Corey Berla is a CFA charterholder with nine years of experience at Berla Investment Consulting. He has also worked as an Information Systems Analyst for the City of Walnut Creek since 2013, focusing on IT hardware and software related to server infrastructure. Berla Investment Consulting provides fiduciary investment consulting to a select client base including employee benefit plans, foundations, endowments, corporate funds, insurance companies, and high-net-worth individuals. The firm operates as a non-discretionary consultant emphasizing manager evaluation, performance measurement, and investment policy oversight, and it does not accept asset-based fees or manage individual portfolios.

Douglas Buser is a CFP® professional with 29 years of industry experience. He has been with Golden Gate Advisors, Inc. since 1998. Outside of his advisory role, he is a partner in Buser Brothers Real Estate, where he works as a real estate broker. Golden Gate Advisors, Inc. is a family-office registered investment adviser serving accredited, high-net-worth individuals and related entities. The firm employs a core-satellite, active/passive multi-manager investment approach and offers a range of wealth management and retirement plan advisory services.

Keith Weissglass is a financial advisor at Effective Finance LLC with a Series 65 credential and two years of industry experience. He has held roles at Constellation Research Center, Inc., where he currently serves as Director of Operations, and has been a lecturer at the University of California, Davis since 2018. Effective Finance LLC provides fee-only financial planning services to individuals and high-net-worth clients, focusing on comprehensive financial topics such as budgeting, retirement planning, and investment analysis. The firm emphasizes passive investment strategies and offers both ongoing and project-based planning without managing assets or executing trades.

Jeffrey Elfont is the sole advisor at Pinnacle Capital Management in Walnut Creek, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials with nine years of industry experience. He has been with Pinnacle Capital Management since 2001 and has prior experience in accounting, taxation, and auditing from his career in CPA firms. Pinnacle Capital Management serves institutional clients and pooled investment vehicles while also working with a small number of individual, non-high-net-worth clients. The firm emphasizes transparent custodian selection and explicit conflict-management policies in its investment management and advisory services.

Eric Hull is a CFA® charterholder with 20 years of industry experience. He has been with Evergreen Wealth Advisors, Inc. since 2005, serving as the firm's sole advisor. Evergreen Wealth Advisors, Inc. is a fee-only independent registered investment adviser offering discretionary investment management and consulting services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, corporations, and retirement plans. The firm’s investment approach combines strategic and tactical asset allocation with economic trend analysis, emphasizing risk assessment and portfolio volatility control.

Thomas Porta is the sole advisor at Porta Investment Management in Vallejo, CA. He holds the CFP® and CFA® designations, has 2 years of industry experience, and has operated his firm as a DBA since 1990. In addition to financial advising, he is a CPA and a licensed real estate broker. Porta Investment Management provides financial planning, retirement planning, and discretionary investment management to individuals, trusts, pension plans, corporations, and other business entities. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes core portfolios of exchange-traded funds combined with a non-core sleeve of individually selected stocks, diversified across multiple asset classes with regular rebalancing. The firm also offers access to legal, real estate brokerage, and tax/accounting services through the advisor’s professional qualifications.

Nicholas Fullerton is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience, operating Fullerton Advisors, LLC since 2008. The firm is an independent advisory practice based in Alamo, CA. Fullerton Advisors serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and corporate entities. The firm provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, modular financial planning, and pension consulting, using diversified asset-allocation portfolios built primarily with ETFs and mutual funds guided by fundamental and cyclical analysis.

John Knolle is a CFP® professional with nine years of experience at Saranap Wealth Advisors and 18 years prior at Mellon Capital Management Corporation. He is based in Walnut Creek, CA. Saranap Wealth Advisors is an independent firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients as well as small businesses, offering discretionary portfolio management combined with financial planning, investment consultation, and third-party sub-advisor selection. The firm also provides employer-facing services including educational workshops and analysis of employee benefits and retirement plans.

John Cha is a financial advisor at VBL Advisors LLC with 19 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and previously spent 17 years at TLA Capital Management, LLC / Twin Lakes Capital Management, LLC before joining VBL Advisors in 2021. VBL Advisors LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals and high-net-worth clients, offering portfolio management, risk assessment, estate planning advice, and access to private investments and alternative funds for qualified clients. The firm customizes strategies using asset allocation, dollar-cost averaging, technical analysis, and various trading approaches, supporting both discretionary and non-discretionary managed accounts.

Sammy Sung is a financial advisor with ALE LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He has been affiliated with ALE LLC since 2015 and is also involved in real estate brokerage through Exit Excel Realty and Exit Realty Team. In addition to his advisory role, he acts as a trustee for a family trust established in 1997. ALE LLC provides portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting services to individuals, pension plans, pooled investment vehicles, and business entities. The firm manages primarily non-discretionary accounts using a range of analytical methods and investment strategies, and is notable for its involvement in real estate brokerage, insurance distribution, and pension consulting.

Jake Birnberg is a financial advisor at Empowering Financial with nine years of industry experience. He previously worked at Portsmouth Financial Investment Advisory and has been involved in real estate and self-employment for over two decades. Birnberg operates a tax planning and preparation business, Deduction Detectives, and holds real estate and insurance licenses. Empowering Financial provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and financial planning services to individuals, small business owners, trustees, and fiduciaries. The firm employs a tailored investment approach combining fundamental, quantitative, qualitative, and cyclical analysis, and offers tax planning and IRS representation through its related tax business.

Randy Benning is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 33 years of industry experience. He is the principal of Benning Financial Group, LLC, an independent firm he has led since 2002. Prior to founding his firm, he worked at Triad Advisors, Inc. for nine years. In addition to his advisory work, he is also an insurance broker and owner, licensed with several carriers. Benning Financial Group provides discretionary portfolio management for individual investors, corporate entities, charitable organizations, and pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm employs a combination of fundamental and cyclical analysis and utilizes long-term, short-term, and trading strategies, including derivatives and option strategies, tailored to client objectives.

Much like you don't wait to join a gym until you're healthy, you shouldn't wait to work with a financial planner until you're wealthy. Unfortunately, the financial industry historically only wants to work with clients who have <insert any seven-digit-minimum amount of assets>. The good news is there are now plenty of financial planners who will gladly work with clients regardless of how much they have already saved. I am one of those planners. ;) I've been a financial planner for over a decade now, and I've worked lots of different clients from all walks of life. I've come to learn that sticking to the basics and keeping things simple is the best approach when helping clients develop a financial plan. My role is to help guide you on your path to financial freedom. New clients start with a financial plan. This is where we talk about your goals, time horizon, and all the numbers. We’ll review different scenarios so you can see what’s possible. By the end of the initial plan, you should be up and running, moving in the general direction of your goals. From there, we move to ongoing financial planning in which we meet semi-annually to monitor your plan and make adjustments when needed.

Matthew Wright is the principal of Wright Financial, LLC in Pleasant Hill, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 26 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at Geneos Wealth Management Inc, Independent Financial Group, LLC, NPB Financial Group, LLC, and Seel & Wright, LLC. He also serves as a trustee for a family trust. Wright Financial, LLC provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm manages approximately $74 million for around 118 clients, using a non-discretionary advisory approach based on Modern Portfolio Theory and a core-and-satellite investment strategy.

James Koch is the principal advisor at Koch Capital Management LLC, an independent firm based in Alamo, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has 17 years of industry experience. Koch also operates the Informed Household financial-education platform. Koch Capital Management LLC provides investment management and retirement-planning services to individuals, families, and trusts. The firm uses a structured retirement planning approach, offering discretionary portfolios and a fixed-fee retirement program, with a focus on active risk management techniques and integrated client collaboration tools.